Happy Friday All, My counter in the margins says it's 12 hours and less than 30 minutes until the new year. Wow, hard to believe 2011 is already just hours away. It seems like once I hit adulthood time started going faster, when in reality it was the same amount of time, just felt differently. I can remember approaching the 2000 finding it totally mind blowing that we were entering the 21st century. Now I'm sitting her going "I never even contemplated 2011." (Anyone else feel this way?) I hope all of you have a blessed, safe, and wonderful New Year's. Every year has brought different good  (and sometimes not-so-good) things. Here's to finding out what 2011 brings (hopefully more good than bad). What's your plans for the new year? Happy New Year one and all :-) Have A Fantastic Friday!

Happy Thursday All, I didn't post on Wednesday. We had stormy weather and I had other things to do, so I had to skip Wednesday. New Year's is just around the corner and a lot of people make Resolutions. I don't. However, I do know there are a few things I can keep doing in the new year. Keep writing and growing as an author. Keep working on my manuscripts and story ideas. Keep working at putting myself out there. So, what about you? Do you make New Year's Resolutions? If so, do you mind sharing them? Have A Thoughtful Thursday!

Happy Monday All, Traditionally speaking , Christmas goes on for 8-12 days (depending on which tradition you're looking at). As a Catholic , I get to enjoy the Christmas Season for more than one day ...although, most things have gone back to normal on my end. I hope you all had a great Christmas Day . Mine was very relaxing. We had gone to Mass the night before and so we enjoyed the morning opening family gifts and just hanging out. My husband and offspring got me a Barnes & Noble Nook and I'm looking forward to getting a couple of books on it. I also got the entire series by Shanna Swendson ( Enchanted, Inc .; Once Upon Stilettos ; Damsel Under Stress ; Don't Hex With Texas ) so I've been reading those and enjoying them all over again. My sister (I come from a large family and we get assigned names of a sibling or spouse --not our own spouse--to get Christmas gifts for) she got me one of the Shanna Swendson books and my mother and father got...

Merry Christmas, All ! I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and a wonderful weekend ! I'll be back posting next week ... enjoy your Holiday ! Ha ve A Fest i ve Fri da y!

Happy Wednesday All, It's 3 days until Christmas! What are you doing to get ready for the big day? Most of my Christmas things are done. (As I talked about in my special Holiday Wishes post entitled The Week Before Christmas ). Here's some Christmassy posts I've found among my fellow blogger/writer friends: Anna Kathryn Lanier had a Christmas story come out on December 8th called A Gift Beyond All Measure   and she's posted  candy recipes on her blog .   She also had author, Robin Badillo post about it being "The Season Of Romance". Fellow blogger and friend, Marsha, over at Marsha's Musings , posted a fun post about Christ mas Movies . What am I doing? Spending time with my family, working on a couple of stories I have going, and looking forward to all the wonderful fun and blessings of Christmas. So, tell me what's up on your end? Blessed Christmas to you and enjoy your 3 days before Christmas :-) Have A Whimsical Wednesday!

Happy Tuesday All, The week before Christmas and all through the house, there isn't any stirring, fortunately not even a mouse. The stockings aren't hung because we have no hooks, but it doesn't matter, Santa is not one for whom we look (we celebrate St. Nicholas Day instead), the presents are bought and almost all ready, the days are progressing at a rate that is steady. The writing keeps going, it's something that must. I'm taking this time to wish you a Christmas with the fun kind of fuss. The New Year will come on the week after, filled with joy, prayers, and lots of laughter. I hope you have a wonderful Holiday, and may God bring you blessings, books, and happily-ever-afters. (Disclaimer:  Even if you don't believe in God, I still wish you blessings, books and happily-ever-afters). Have A Tinsel-Filled Tuesday!

Happy Monday All, Just 5 more days until Christmas. Can you believe it? If you're in denial about how close it is, I'd recommend not looking at the countdown in the margin of this blog. LOL This time of year, with New Year's the week after Christmas, it's been a "look back on the year" season for a lot of things--everything from the Internet to television.   For me, the previous year had it's bright spots, but it also had its rough spots.   Two of my uncles died, as well as two friends. One of the friends that died was someone I graduated high school with and I'm still in shock about it. It's hard to imagine such a thing happening.   On the bright side, I managed to finish editing (and start the query process on) a manuscript. As well as go into a pitch session for the first time, which is even more further along than I was a year ago. I like the idea of progressing forward--learning and growing and improving.   There was also a birth o...

Happy Friday All, While y'all are celebrating the end of another week, you can join me in celebrating me putting out a query letter for the first time. Thursday afternoon was when it happened, and I'll keep you updated on what's next. (In the meantime, please cross your fingers, toes, hair, whatever and if you're a prayer type person, send some up for me, please as I go through this process). There's mixed feelings involved here. For instance: On one hand I was nervous after pushing that "send" button, on the other hand, a sense of relief fell over me that my manuscript was finally ready and I had everything prepared. Once the initial nerves are gone there's the whole "Okay, onto the other manuscripts." and "What other responsibilities do I have?" Yesterday (late, around 8:30 or so p.m.) I made fudge. I had planned to, but the fact that I had gotten done what I had planned to in terms of getting that query out made me feel...

Happy Wednesday All, Can you believe it? Just a little over a week until Christmas. (If you look in the margin of this blog you'll see I have a countdown for Christmas and one for New Year's). Once in awhile I come across Christmas stories I really love. Here's a few: The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber . (Really funny, and also a fun read). The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere (based off the hit song. If you cry easily make sure you have a tissue box nearby!) The Christmas Box Collection   by Richard Paul Evans . (This series is what got me reading Richard Paul Evans books). Of course, The Night Before Christmas poem by Clement Clarke Moore or Henry Livingston, Jr. is always a great read and the Nativity stories in the Gospels in the Bible--but I do realize not everyone is Christian--but I don't really know stories dealing with Hanukkah and other holidays. In any case, whatever you choose to read this season (or any season) hope it takes you aw...

Hey All of you in Minneapolis: This in from mystery author, Laura Childs: Saturday, December 18, from 11:00 to 1:00, I'll be signing books at Once Upon A Crime in Minneapolis. It's a cozy little bookshop that specializes in mysteries and thrillers. Come one, come all if you're in the neighborhood. We'll also be serving chai tea, brownie bites, lemon bars, and tea sandwiches. I won't be able to be there, so any of you in that area or near there, maybe you all can go and then tell us all about it.

Happy Monday All, I just looked my calendar and realized counting this week, 3 weeks left of 2010. Weird, huh? I think this year went by faster than I expected. I'm plotting some of the things for the blog for next year. Already have one author in mind to ask for an email interview, and 3 others I'd love to ask. (One I already have asked, but I think either my email got lost or she was very busy and didn't get to it). (By the way, don't hesitate to comment or email me if there's some author you're really hoping I'd look into asking for an interview!) I'm also planning to get query letters for a manuscript started out very soon (hopefully THIS week--gotta do a couple of things first). So positive thoughts/prayers/crossing fingers all of that is much appreciated. I haven't made any New Year's Resolutions for 2011, but I think some of them are a lot of the same of what I'd say for this year. Work on writing, work on improving the craft ...

Happy Friday All, It's that time of year...time for Holidays, Christmas cheer, shopping, lights... And sore throats. Yep, those heaters will dry out every part of you inside and out and I'm no exception. This week I've fought restless nights, sore throats, and feeling dry all over. The good news is I'm getting better and I LOVE colder weather. The bad news is? The weather is a little warmer today and will probably change again, which means my poor system will freak out in the following style: "What's going on? What do we do?!" And I could get another cold or something like that. Thank goodness I got my flu shot--that usually keeps the cold/flu feelings to a minimum. I've been working on some other story ideas that were developing while working on some edits, but now, the edits are done pretty much--working on the next step on that manuscript and I'm able to work on the other stories bouncing around in my head. And, I'm noticing it...

Happy Wednesday All, There's some new releases coming out... Anna Kathryn Lanier talked about her release in yesterday's interview . It's called A Gift Beyond All Measure . Robin Badillo's  second book in her Journey Of The Damned series hit the e-book shelves earlier this month. It's called Forbidden . (By the way, you can find Robin's first book, Retribution at Amazon !) Laura Childs' 3rd book in her  Cackleberry Club Mysteries hit shelves yesterday. ( I reviewed this one on here ). It's called Bedeviled Eggs . Lesley Livingston's 2nd sequel to Wondrous Strange is due to come out December 21, 2010. It's called Tempestuous . Ciara Gold also had a new release earlier this month. The Keeper Of Moon Haven made its debut on Dec. 1st. If you all know of any other new releases this month, feel free to share :-) Have A Whimsical Wednesday!

Happy Tuesday Everyone, Today I'm delighted to have an author interview with Anna Kathryn Lanier. She's not only a good writer, but definitely has become someone I consider a good friend. She supportive, encouraging and fun. She's got a release coming up (a story that looks really good and funny). So it is my privilege to introduce you to Anna Kathryn Lanier... Me:  What attracted you to writing Westerns and Historicals? Anna:   I’ve read historicals for 30 years. I enjoy them more than contemporaries, for the most part. Honestly, I sort of fell into writing Westerns, I didn’t plan to write them. I wanted to write Regency. See below for more info on how I fell into it. Me:  How did you end up with your publisher, The Wild Rose Press? Anna: A friend of mine, Skhye Moncrief, had sold to them. She told me they were looking for holiday stories and could I quick-like write up my wagon train story (historical). We brainstormed that idea for a while, then I dec...

Happy Monday All, Laura Childs is one busy author. With 3 mystery series out, she keeps herself well immersed in a myriad of characters. Her newest series, Cackleberry Club Mystery , is joining the ranks of her other two. So...in light of all this, I have a questiong:  What do eggs, pumpkins, and murder have in common? Give up? They're all happening around Suzanne Dietz, one of the owners of The Cackleberry Club--a diner, named for it's main dish: eggs. In the small Midwestern town of Kindred, Suzanne and her friends, Petra and Toni are serving up eggs (in every way imaginable), desserts, coffee and a side dish of mystery. Only this time the mystery is in their backyard. Literally. Mayor hopeful, Chuck Peebler, finds his campaign trail sadly curtailed the moment an arrow shoots him right through the forehead--in front of a frightened Suzanne. The sheriff suspects Jane Buckley, Petra's friend, and it makes sense. After all, Peebler accused Jane of stealing...

Hey Everybody, Because I have a book review to do for Monday, Dec. 6th, but still wanted to mention this particular day (since it has special meaning for me) I thought I'd double-post. This post will cover St. Nicholas and then I can put up the book review. St. Nicholas has all kinds of legends connected to him. However, there are a couple of things I know: 1. He was a Catholic Bishop 2.  He helped people The other thing is, it seems (based on what I see and hear) that the legends of Santa Claus sprung in part from legends surrounding St. Nicholas. Growing up I've met a few people who celebrate this day. One lady I know said, when I mentioned St. Nicholas Day, "Oh yes, Little Christmas."  I don't remember if I ever heard it referred to as "Little Christmas" but it fits. Here's how it works. The night before Dec. 6th children put out one of their shoes. The next day (Dec. 6th) there's candy and small gifts in (and sometimes gifts und...

Happy Wednesday All, How often when we're writing and editing do we get to a point where we need a break because we've stopped caring about our characters? We get to a point sometimes where we'd just as soon see them all fall into a pit and stay there. Not good! If we don't care about characters and stories then how can we expect readers to care? What happened to me was, I worked on a manuscript and got annoyed, and started thinking my hero and heroine could fall off a cliff. Yikes and painful! I ended up taking a bit of a break from said manuscript and when I came back to the editing and working on it, I found out that I was falling back in love with the characters and the story. Ahh, how lovely! It's like what Nathan Bransford wrote in his blog post called The Nine Circles of Writing Hell   we think our story is nifty and wonderful until something happens, then we get distracted by another story idea or whatever comes up. Sometimes we need a l...